Home made pickles

Ms Music

I know we have talked about pickles before, and fermenting vs non fermenting, but I want to get a thread dedicated solely to pickling. I am feeling the pickling urge again.

What is your favorite fruit or vegetable to pickle?

Has anyone had fun playing around with flavor combinations of spices or different vinegars?

I just stumbled on this website http://agardenerstable.com/2012/06/0...-home-canning/ that talks about using Marukan rice vinegar, which sounds interesting. I just may try that soon! Not sure what I will put in, as all vegetables will have to come from the grocery store this year. But in the least I will do green beans and onions.

So lets hear from the rest of you picklers.

Jimmy Snyder

Slice a cucumber from the garden and seep for two days in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and sesame oil.

lisab

I've lost my recipe, but there are several versions floating around on the innerwebs: Dilly Green Beans !

turbo

I don't have the recipe, but my wife has been making brined refrigerator pickles this summer They are killer.

Ms Music

Jimmy, I was toying the idea of putting some soy sauce in,that sounds good! But what is the purpose of the oil? Does it just give it an Asian "feel"? Have you ever put in wasabi?

Lisa- losing recipes is the worst. My brother and I wound up having a pickle competition last year, and I won. And now I don't know what I used! I think it was basically dilly beans, but I had the entire garden thrown in. Green beans, onions, and mushrooms are the best to pickle in my opinion. Well, cukes for when you want normal pickles.

Ms Music

Heh, speak of the devil...

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...Vinegar-242292

Guess I didn't think of it first!

Jimmy Snyder

Yes, the sesame oil adds an Asian flavor. No wasabi.

Ms Music

I should share a new favorite of mine: pickled rhubarb.

http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4305/r...-the-old-stalk

I bought some rhubarb that is waiting for its pickling. My brother was pining for it yesterday, and was tickled when I told him I had some ready to be pickled. Hey, that rhymes.

Best.
Use.
For.
Rhubarb.
period.

lisab

For future reference: I've found many recipes at epicurious.com to be *delicious* and unique!

Ms Music

When I talk about different flavor combinations, THIS is what I am talking about!

http://www.aprilslifestyleshow.com/2...tor-curry.html

OHMYWORDYUM!

This I will try right after I finally get the time to make the rhubarb pickles.

Pkruse

A friend gave me a quart of pickled Jalapenos, absolutely the best I ever tasted. I'm going to start making them myself. Just white vinegar and much garlic. The liquid make collard greens taste absolutely wonderful.

But this jar was aged 4 years, and he said that makes it much better. Tough to wait that long.

sachinism

i live in a hostel and savor the pickel that my granny sends via courier every semester

Oldfart

Please, oh, please can anyone tell me the recipe for Topeka Pickles, a beathtaking horseradish-ey pickle that was sold in the Kansas City Barbeque in San Diego in the 1990's?

OF

Ms Music

I did a quick google search, and all I found was you asking about them in other forums. So.... I will take a stab and post my thoughts based on the description that I gathered from the other forum.

A fermented pickle is more sour than vinegary, so the flavor of the horse radish should shine through much stronger as it would have fermented in the spicy brine. I think a vinegar pickle would compete with the horse radish. So my bet is its a fermented pickle with horse radish added to the brine. Did it have any garlicky flavor? Or your standard dill flavor? Any pepper heat?

Let me know what you HAVE tried in the past, and we will see if we can re create a recipe. I am one of those that hates following recipes and is constantly adding spices or flavorings to customize my own recipes to my own tastes, and this pickle sounds like a tasty challenge that many friends and family would enjoy my attempts. On one website someone had suggested to you to BUY A JAR OF PICKLES and add horse radish. The horrors! Store bought can not compare to home made.

Since I don't know you, I need to ask - do you know how to can?

Oldfart

Ms Music -- Thanks for your reply and interest!

To try to answer your questions (keep in mind that the memories are at least 13 years old):
Garlicky flavor? No. Standard dill flavor? Yes, after the horseradish hit went away. Pepper heat? No. What did I try in the past? Added grated horseradish to a jar of whole Klausen (sp?) dill pickles, aged in the fridge. Know how to can? No, but my wife does and will help.

I recall that the pickles were served at the Kansas City Barbecue from a big jar with what looked like a lot of grated horseradish laying at the bottom of the jar.

Sic 'em, Ms Music!

OF
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Ms Music

So glad to know your wife knows canning! Basic sterilization processes must be followed to avoid contamination of bad bacteria, which will ruin a batch. But don't fret, if she isn't used to fermentation (like I was) it isn't difficult.

This http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/201...t-recipe-found sounds like a good basic instruction website for a good old fashioned fermented pickle. This is what I will use for my own personal experiment. I am out of pickling cukes now, and will have to go back down to my local Asian store (the only place I could find pickling cukes) to buy more for this experiment. So tell your wife to get a few canning jars out of the cabinet, some pickling salt, cukes, and the below spices, and lets get pickling!

What MY idea (from this website) that would taste good in this?

Peppercorns
Mustard seed
Coriander seed
Allspice berries
Bay leaves
Fresh dill flowerettes (preferable) or dill seed
and (of course) horseradish. whether fresh or bottled from the store is your desire. Or convenience!

And since the pickle didn't have a garlic flavor, ONION. Since they are local for me and a favorite (and in most grocery stores) I will use the sweet Walla Walla onion, but you can use what ever onion you wish. I personally find these onions make AMAZING pickles. But if you wish to throw some in, use your favorite, or any sweet onion. I happen to be in Seattle, where Walla Walla's are easy to find.

Another brief thought/question, do you have access to fresh horseradish? I kind of do at the moment, but it is a very limited supply, so I would rather rely on bottled for now. But if you feel your pickles are perfect, - or at least close to - then maybe you can grow your own horseradish for a wollop of a pickle in the future. I know that is what I intend to do if these go over as well as I think they will!

ready...
set....

Oldfart

Ms Music --

OK, I'll give it a try, gotta round up some supplies first, look in this thread in about two weeks for results.

Thanks again!

OF